After Storm Bert brought heavy rain, high winds, and snow over the weekend, hundreds of flood warnings and alerts remained in place, causing significant disruption to homes, roads and rail networks. Three people died as a result, and nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in parts of south Wales and south-west England. In addition, several rail operators cancelled services on Monday, while in Wales, Welsh Water issued a “boil water” notice affecting customers in ten areas over concerns that tap water might be contaminated. These areas are located in the Rhondda Cynon Taf region, which was among the most badly hit by flooding that occurred during the storm.
Residents of flood-hit areas throughout much of the UK faced a major clean-up operation, while information emerged on Twitter regarding flooding in various locations across the UK. Business owners were left devastated, with many seeing their premises completely wiped out. In an advisory, Welsh Water warned customers not to drink tap water, use it to prepare food, clean teeth, or prepare baby feeds without boiling it first. Tap water could still be used for washing or bathing, and to flush toilets.
There were dozens of school closures in the aftermath of the storm, with 30 schools closed in Wales on Monday, a dozen in Wiltshire, and seven in Oxfordshire. Police in Northamptonshire warned against all unnecessary travel, asking people not to drive through water of any depth. Rail lines were blocked and flooded, leading some train operators to cancel services in various areas across the UK, with National Rail warning of severe disruption across England, Wales and Scotland. The Environment Agency issued more than 120 warnings for flooding in England, and nearly 150 flood alerts, including a severe “danger to life” warning near the River Nene in Northamptonshire.
Politicians and residents in south Wales, one of the areas worst hit by the storm, criticised the officials for what they saw as a lack of preparation and insufficient warning. Among the critics was Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, who said he was “amazed” that only a yellow weather warning was put in place, and that an amber warning was expected. Following complaints, Natural Resources Wales said it would investigate the matter, and the Met Office said it would conduct a full assessment, although it acknowledged that the storm was well forecast in advance and that a number of warnings had been issued
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